It wasn't long ago that the Ankalaev simps were screaming that the UFC is protecting Alex and that Alex is ducking Ankalaev. But here we are, Alex Pereira is defending his belt for the 5th time in 12 months and fighting the one person everyone said he was afraid to fight. Quick reminder, the person you said Alex was being protected from is 2-0-2 in his last 4 fights with a decision win over chinny Rakic, a no contest and a win over chinny Jonny Walker, and a draw with senior citizen Jan Blachowicz. A real murderers row of a resume there.
The funny part about this matchup is I dont think anyone, including Ankalaev's mother, thinks he can out strike Alex, so everyone begging for this matchup and all the Ankalaev nut huggers are literally hoping for the most boring crotch sniffing bullshit we have ever seen. Part of me wants Ankalaev to win so everyone who rooted for him can be bored out of their fucking minds for the next 4 years while a guy with zero personality, zero power in his hands and zero showmanship whatsoever just lays on people for a win. Don't forget, Ankalaev promised he wouldn't shoot a single takedown in the first 15 minutes of this fight. That tweet has mysteriously disappeared, but luckily nothing leaves the internet forever. I am axctually surprised to see Alex as the favorite, I assumed most people would worry about the wrestling and be all over Ankalaev but it seems as though Ankalaev's last performance has people questioning his striking abilities. I am going to pick Alex here, but that may be biased. I want that dude to dominate here, move to heavyweight and become the first 3 division champion in history. Alex is old and the clock is ticking so lets hope we get a couple of legendary matchups out of him.
Alex Pereira
Alex Pereira has only been in the UFC for less than 4 years and is already a 2 division champion and the biggest star the sport has. He is a world class kickboxer that dominated that world before moving into this one. He has ungodly power and a willingness to fight anyone, anywhere. He is coming off the flow state finish over Khalil Rountree.
Magomed Ankalaev
Magomed Ankalaev is a long kickboxer who uses range well and has devastating kicks. He has power in both of his hands and his feet. He is very versatile in his attack style, has solid striking defense but can be low volume. If he gets in trouble striking he does have a wrestling backup plan and averages around 1 takedown per 15 minutes. He has one single loss and that was a literal last second submission to Paul Craig in his UFC debut. He is coming off the lackluster win over Aleksander Rakic.
